


What Was, What Was Not

by RainofAugust



Series: Lana and Viri - KOTFE [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Headcanon Accepted, KotFE spoilers, Visions in the Dark, kotfe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-30 21:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20103949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainofAugust/pseuds/RainofAugust
Summary: After escaping from the "Visions in the Dark" in the Odessen wilderness, Commander Viri and her partner, Lana Beniko, struggle to ascertain what about the vision was real. Assumes headcanon where the Outlander's "training" with Darth Marr and Satele Shan was nothing more than a Valkorion-engineered hallucination.





	What Was, What Was Not

**Author's Note:**

> This story follows my personal headcanon for Viri, which is that "Visions in the Dark" is all a figment of the Commander's imagination, courtesy of Valkorion. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who reads, leaves kudos or comments, and reblogs my work. It's so very appreciated! Comments are always welcome and appreciated, even if you have found this story years later. :) 
> 
> Set during "Visions in the Dark," KOTFE Chapter XII.
> 
> If you are reading this work anywhere other than Ao3, please know that I do not consent to having my works reposted or packaged into apps. Please also know that this work is free to read on Ao3 and I do not approve of or consent to having my works posted behind paywalls or subscriptions.

**Odessen**

It’s their second mission as an Alliance. Their second _big_ mission, rather. Viri blinks up at the holo-communicator on the war table, staring at her operatives. 

Kaliyo Djannis. Anarchist. Terrorist. Untrustworthy. Dedicated. Aric Jorgan. Leader of the celebrated Havoc Squad. Experienced. Upright.

Kaliyo rolls her eyes. “You’re going to let these bucketheads destroy the relay station? If you send me you’ll _control_ the frequency instead. Think of that.” 

”We could track Arcann. Control the fleet, perhaps,” Viri muses. 

”You’re not going to let that terrorist destroy this mission?!” Jorgan huffs. “Zakuul could fight back. Wrestle it away from you one day after we win. Destroying it is the only way.” 

Viri dips her head and takes a deep breath. “I need you to work together. I want the station captured, not destroyed. We need that information. We can always rig it to self-destruct, if it looks as though Zakuul can recover it.” 

”Smart Commander,” Kaliyo smirks. “On my way.” 

Aric Jorgan turns in a circle and growls at Viri. “Why did you even recruit Havoc if you won’t use us?!” 

”Calm down. I’m going to use you. I watched Kaliyo take over Overwatch. She can do this. But she’s going to need backup, and more than that, she’s going to need a huge distraction. Your attack can accomplish both, and I trust Havoc Squad more than anyone to get in and out.” 

Aric’s expression softens slightly, before his jaw sets with determination. “We won’t let you down, Commander. Havoc out.” 

Viri exhales as the holo goes dark. Behind her eyes, Valkorion is chuckling. 

“I think you made the best choice there,” Lana says. 

”I don’t,” Koth counters. “Sending _her_ back to Zakuul!” 

”I didn’t let her blow up the Spire, and she knows she’s not going to destroy it this time, either,” Viri snips. “Did you hear her? She advised taking the station instead of blowing it up!” 

”True,” Koth says. “I hope she’ll keep to that.” 

”No way to change it now,” Lana says. “Viri, are you ready to move?” 

”I have a headache,” Viri mutters, rubbing her eyes. _Shut up Valkorion shut up shut up shut up_

”Do you need to have a word with the medical droid?” Lana says, comprehending. 

”Yes,” Viri says. “Give me a half hour. I’ll get this under control.” 

”We can budget that,” Theron says, looking at his datapad. “Meet you back here.” 

* 

Viri walks toward her suite, but a crowd in the corridor stops her. She’s become far more approachable. Far less scary. People who would have winced at the sight of her when she was the Empire’s Wrath now come up to say hello. Valkorion is chattering in her mind, though, and she cannot deal with both at once. She turns on her heel, walking toward the cantina. 

A back exit from the cantina leads into the Odessen wilderness. It’s safe enough - the entire planet has been scanned and found to be unoccupied - and the fresh air feels good on her face. Viri starts down the dirt path toward the nearest waterfall, taking a deep breath of the crisp air. 

”You have a mission, and you’re going for a walk,” Valkorion tuts, falling into step alongside her. 

”I’m trying to get you to shut up,” Viri says, gritting her teeth. 

”Still will not believe that I am your ally?” Valkorion says, amused. 

”I watched you devour a planet. Watched you kill Darth Marr. You are not my friend.” 

”So naive,” Valkorion says. “So wary. So suspicious.” 

”So intelligent,” Viri counters. 

Valkorion’s malevolent chuckle echoes through her head. “I am tired of your lack of progress.” 

”I’m not working on your timetable, creep,” Viri hisses. “The only progress that matters with you is getting you the fuck out of my head.” 

”Such language.” 

”You’ve wiped out entire planets and you’re offended by expletives,” Viri shakes her head, doubling back to the base. There will be no peace at the waterfall today, she decides. 

”You’re going into a mission you know nothing about. I’m more offended by that.”

”What do you think I need to know?” Viri says, her nostrils flaring. “If you have some useful information to share about that miserable planet of yours, by all means, help me out.” 

The world goes black, and Valkorion laughs again. 

* 

**Lana**

”Damn it, Viri!” Lana mutters, trying Viri’s holo again. It rings and rings, but there’s no answer. She feels Viri in the Force - alive and well, not dulled by carbonite - but Viri will not respond to her. 

“Well?” Theron looks up from his console.

“She’s not picking up her holo,” Lana says, pacing. “I can’t get her on the comlink, either. She was last seen leaving the base and heading toward the waterfall…”

”Lana, people can’t get to their holos sometimes,” Theron says. “Stop stressing. I’m sure she’s fine.”

Lana wheels around, her eyes blazing. “The last time I lost track of her she was stabbed in the gut. The time before, she was ambushed by the Scions. And the time before that, she was thrown into carbonite. Do not tell me to stop stressing about this. There’s more than enough precedent for me to be stressed, Theron Shan.”

”Can’t you two feel each other?” Koth asks. “That’s how you found her with the Scions…”

”Good point,” Lana says, heading for the elevator. “I can track her down through the Force. I’m going to find her.”

Koth and Theron look at each other, nod, and run to block Lana’s path to the elevator.

”Out of my way,” Lana snaps, her hand inching toward her lightsaber.

”Lana, there’s a mission in Zakuul right now that really needs your comm support. With or without Viri, it’s happening. What would she want you to do?” Koth says, putting his hands up. “Give Viri time to work through this on her own.”

”Right now we’ve got all of Havoc Squad and Kaliyo down there, and we need to focus on them. Viri would be very upset if they died because we weren’t guiding them,” Theron says.  


“She’s out in Odessen somewhere!” Lana says. “Alone!”

“Do you really think that anything in the Odessen wilderness is going to hurt her? It’s not an extreme climate. She knows how to handle herself with wildlife. Hell, knowing Viri she’s probably going to show up with a gaggle of sleen and claim they followed her home and need to be adopted. Again,” Theron says.

“It’s not like her to disappear when she has a mission scheduled. That alone is cause for concern. She’s always taken her work very seriously.”

”Yes, it is a concern,” Koth concedes. “You’re right, she doesn’t blow off her work. But Theron’s right too. We have to help our people get out of there alive. I think Viri would want that. Let’s get through this mission, and then I’ll help you look for her. Okay?”

”I will, as well. You have my word. We’ll all go out together, the three of us,” Theron says. 

”In the meantime, are we supposed to do nothing to try to locate her?” Lana asks, exasperated.

Koth accesses his comlink. “I’ll ask Tora, Len, Ralo and Nico to take the shuttles out to search for her in the meantime.” 

”I’m putting the surveillance towers on high alert,” Theron says, tapping some buttons on his datapad. “Not mentioning the Commander, of course. Just asking them to give me a yell if anything out of the ordinary shows up on their scanners.” 

**Viri**

Viri’s eyes snap open. Her legs are freezing, and it takes her a moment to register why: they’re half-submerged in the pool beneath the waterfall. Her hand is still locked around the hilt of her lightsaber, and her head is throbbing. 

”Valkorion, damn it…” Viri whispers, sitting up. The ground lurches, and she rubs her head, woozy.

_Get…to…safety._ The same survival instinct that guided Viri through the Sith Academy, her apprenticeship and her tenure as the Wrath kicks in, and Viri pulls herself to her feet through sheer force of will. She braces herself against a nearby tree and takes a deep breath. 

_Find…shelter._ A small cave is barely visible through the haze in Viri’s brain, and she veers toward it. Her will can only take her so far, however, and she’s only a few meters into the cave before collapsing again. 

_It’s…not so bad,_ Viri’s thoughts fragment in her mind as she loses consciousness, feeling flower-soft silkiness against her cheek. Satele Shan stands before her, smiling, but her eyes are cold.

**Lana**

She’s been gone for hours,” Lana says, pacing in the War Room. 

”I’m…getting worried,” Theron admits. “But the scouts and towers have reported in. No ships have left or entered Odessen airspace. She’s on the planet. We know that, at least.” 

”We surveyed this entire world,” Koth adds. “We know there’s nobody else here.” 

”I didn’t feel her die,” Lana sighs. “But where is she?” 

Lana closes her eyes, pulling on her bond with Viri. _Viri! Come home!_

**Viri**

_Viri! Come home!_

The chill of the water is a shock to Viri’s system; she instinctively pulls herself out of the stream as she comes to. The clearing is silent, save for the chirps and warbles of the nearby wildlife, and Viri is sitting in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, the water cool around her waist. 

”Where…back to the base…” Viri brushes her wet hair out of her eyes and trudges toward the welcoming sight of the Alliance base. 

**Lana and Viri**

As the mission to the hyperspace relay station continues, more and more people appear to monitor its progress. After a while, it seems as though the entire Alliance has piled into the War Room. Every face is turned toward the holo, watching and listening. Even when the comms are jammed and both Jorgan and Kaliyo drop out of contact, they don’t move. When Viri quietly threads her way through the crowd nobody notices her, except Lana.

”Where in blazes have you been?” Lana says sharply, turning toward her. Viri is bedraggled; her clothing is soaked with water, and dirt and debris coat her hair and face. 

Viri’s eyes flick to the assembled Alliance troops and then back to Lana. “Not here. I’ll explain everything later.”

Lana’s Force signature is a flurry of upset. Viri stares into her eyes, and before she can stop herself, she has thrown her arms around Lana. And Lana – who normally shies away from any public displays of affection – is suddenly clinging to her, burying her face in Viri’s chest.

“Lana, I’m right here.” Viri hugs her close and speaks Sith, quietly enough that only Lana can hear her. “I’m here. I’m okay.”

Lana is shaking, and Viri can feel it through her armor. All she can do is rock them both slightly, send as much reassurance and love through their bond as she can, and stroke Lana’s hair with one hand, soothing her.

”Commander—“ Someone starts to say something, but Koth and Theron wave them away.

”No. Give them their moment. Whatever it is, it can wait. It will have to.”

When Lana and Viri finally draw apart, every eye in the room is fixed on them. Viri coughs nervously and looks away. 

”So are you going to tell us where you were? What happened?” Theron asks.

“I…” Viri looks around apprehensively at the assembled Alliance members. “I need to discuss this with my advisor first.” 

Theron throws his hands up, exasperated. “You throw Lana into a panic, we end up sending out four shuttles to look for you, and you’re not going to give us the courtesy of letting us know what happened?” 

”I need to collect my thoughts,” Viri says. “It has to do with…a headache.” 

Theron stares at her, understanding. “Oh. The same headache that has bugged you before?” 

”Yes, exactly,” Viri says. “I’d rather not, ahem, burden the base with my health problems.” 

”Understood,” Theron says. “I get it. Lana, we’ll cover for you here. You’re going to help Viri with her headache, aren’t you?”

”I always do,” Lana says, looping her arm around Viri’s waist. “Comm us immediately if Kaliyo or Aric come back into contact.” 

Viri is silent as she and Lana walk down the corridor. As soon as the door to her suite is closed and locked, she sinks onto the couch, holding her head in her hands. 

“Now can you tell me what happened?” Lana asks, holding her. “Valkorion was responsible?” 

Viri nods numbly. “What I saw could not have been real. It had to be him. Lana…I was talking to Satele Shan and Darth Marr. Who are living in the Odessen wilderness, following the will of the Force.” 

Lana blinks. “I felt Darth Marr die.” 

”I saw him die,” Viri says. “It was his ghost. He was still dressed in his armor and mask, even.” 

”I see. What did he want?” 

”He and Satele were trying to train me, I think. Teach me. I’m not sure what, to be honest. I wandered in the forest,” Viri shakes her head, and yellow flower petals fall from her hair. 

Lana stoops to pick one up. “Where did these come from?” 

”I don’t know,” Viri says blankly. “I…I talked to Valkorion and everything went black. I don’t remember seeing any flowers. Not in the forest, and not on Satele’s ship. How does Satele even have a ship on Odessen? Wouldn’t the Alliance scanners have picked it up? Or wouldn’t the Jedi here have sensed her presence? She wasn’t here, was she? Or was she…I don’t know what’s real, Lana.”

Lana kneels down in front of her, taking her hands. “Deep breath. Good. One more. I think you know very well what is real. Can you feel my hands, for instance?” 

”Yes,” Viri says, allowing Lana to soothe her.

”Who are you? Full titles.” 

”Viridana Revarre Dragoi,” Viri replies. “A Sith lord. A Darth. The Wrath. The Alliance Commander.” 

”How old are you?” 

”32---no, 37. Shit, Lana, I’m forgetting…” 

”It’s all right,” Lana says, kissing her hands. “You were in carbonite. You don’t remember those five years, so it’s easy to misplace them. What’s the best way to tame a sleen?” 

”You feed them,” Viri whispers. “You swim with them. You show them no aggression and let them come to you.” 

“How do you calculate the force of an object in motion?” 

”Mass times acceleration, where mass is calculated in kilograms and acceleration is measured in meters squared.” 

“You see, your mind is working. Where are you?” 

”On Odessen,” Viri murmurs, closing her eyes. “In my suite. With my Lana.” 

”And who is your Lana?” 

”My love,” Viri whispers. “My everything,” 

Lana hugs her tightly. “Am I real?” 

”Very,” Viri smiles. 

”Are _we?_” 

”Always,” Viri says, snuggling against her. “I love that word, you know. ‘We.’” 

”So do I,” Lana says, kissing her shoulder. Viri’s breathing has slowed, but her muscles are still coiled with tension. “Can you try to tell me what happened now?” 

Viri stiffens against her. “I…Lana, I don’t know what I saw. I don’t know what happened.” 

”Can you meditate with me? We can talk it through there.”

Viri nods and stands, following Lana to the personal altar in the corner of her room. Lana quickly lights the Sith braziers and motions for Viri to sit with her. The heady smell of incense fills the space as purple flames rise from the braziers, relaxing them both. 

As Viri settles into her meditation stance Lana sits across from her, holding her hands. 

”I’ll be right here with you. Nothing to worry about,” Lana says, her voice soothing. She channels the Force, willing her unrest, and Viri’s, to serve them. Viri’s head drops to her chest as their shared meditation deepens, her hands tightening on Lana’s. 

”Can you think clearly now, Viri?” Lana asks softly, caressing Viri’s hands with her thumbs. “Start from the beginning. What happened when you left the base?” 

”I walked through the forest,” Viri says, taking another deep breath. “I was trying to get to the waterfall, just to think. Valkorion was arguing with me. We fought. He threw me against the rocks, and there was a surge of power…” 

Lana shudders as the images rise in her mind. “And then?” 

”I woke up on the forest floor,” Viri says, her voice calm. “I knew I had to find shelter. I ran through the woods, Valkorion taunting me all the while. I couldn’t locate the base anymore. My comlink didn’t work. Neither did my holo. I found…I don’t remember. It all went black again.” 

”You went to sleep?” Lana prompts. 

”Yes. When I woke, I was in a warm, soft bed on a ship. It was Satele’s.” 

“I want you to think about that ship, Viri. What did it look like?”

Viri shrugs. “An ugly Republic ship.”

”How do you know it was Republic?” 

”The colors. There was a Republic seal on the wall.” 

”Okay. Let’s walk around that ship together. Tell me what you see.”

Viri exhales and clutches at Lana’s hands. “Small cargo hold. A room with several bunks. Small generator room. A lot of stairs.” 

”Focus on the personal effects. Did this person…Satele…have anything of hers on the ship?” 

Viri concentrates, trying to see the ship again in her mind. “Yes. There was some framed armor. I tried the ship’s console, to see if I could reach the base. I couldn’t. The entire Eternal Fleet was on the holo-map on the navicomputer on the bridge…there were some holos of Theron…books from Tython, Korriban and Zakuul…what looked like children’s toys…” 

”How would Satele Shan have had the Eternal Fleet on her map?” 

”I don’t know.” 

”What else?”

”I went outside. Satele was by the campfire. She and Marr wanted to…complete my training. I assembled a new lightsaber. They kept telling me to take the Eternal Throne, and they led me to a cave where Vaylin appeared.” 

”How did they make her appear?” 

“I don’t know, Lana! She was just there, waiting for me…and the lightsaber forge…” 

”What did the lightsaber forge look like?”

”None I’d ever seen before. Stone. A creature was carved on it with two horns. Satele and Marr said I needed a new weapon to fight Zakuul…” 

“Did you hear Valkorion again?” 

”No, but a lot of what Marr said sounded like Valkorion’s words. He regretted not bowing to Valkorion in the throne room. I don’t think Marr would have ever said that!”

”Neither do I. And you’ve seen Valkorion impersonate others before, haven’t you? Or make you think you’re interacting with them?” Lana asks gently. 

Viri nods numbly. “Yes. When I was in carbonite, he made me see…experience…visions of you. My parents. Vette. So many others. I fought Marr once or twice in those nightmares, actually.”

”So we know he can do this, and it sounds like he did it again. Are we agreed, it wasn’t actually Marr and Satele, but some trick of Valkorion’s?”

Viri opens her eyes, shaken from her meditation. “If he’s able to tamper with my consciousness to that extent, we have a major problem. A very, very major problem, Lana. It means I can’t check him anymore. When I was in carbonite I was in an altered state, and too sick from the carbonite poisoning to fight him, but this time I was walking around, fully conscious.” 

Lana shivers, but squeezes Viri’s hands. ”There has to be an explanation. Perhaps something else clouded your ability to block him, the way the carbonite poisoning did. What did you eat or drink before you went out there?” 

”I was at lunch with you, remember? We had the same food. It was just us. After that, I had my water bottle. I’d topped it up from the nearest refill station. The one by the cantina. I never let that water bottle out of my hands. It went right into my pack.” 

”I didn’t hallucinate after lunch, so we know it’s not the food,” Lana muses. “We can check the water supply and that refill station, just in case someone’s tampered with it, but so many other Alliance members have probably used it since then, with no issues…” 

“I’m going mad,” Viri says, chewing her lip. “He’s finally done it…” 

”Don’t fall apart on me,” Lana warns, squeezing her hands again. “We have to think this through, my love. You are not mad. Let’s retrace your steps. You went to the cantina. You went out the back entrance of the base. You wanted to take a walk. Did you talk to anyone?” 

”I nodded to the guards as I left the base. After that, I just spoke to Valkorion. He was taunting me about the Spire. Saying that I wasn’t worthy of being a leader. I finally told him that if he had any information, I’d appreciate his help instead of his constant insults.” 

Lana goes pale. “Didn’t you tell me that Valkorion required your permission to give you his power when he offered it before?”

Viri nods. “Yes. He couldn’t take control of me without my consent. It frustrated the hell out of him that I refused.” 

”Oh, Viri. I think I’ve figured it out. From what you said, you asked for his help. _You summoned him._ That’s how he was able to hurt you.” 

All the color leaves Viri’s face. “Stars. I did.” 

“Did you ever tell him to back off?”

“I fought him, but in actual words, no, I didn’t. Let me do that now,” Viri says, closing her eyes and channeling her power. Lana puts one hand on her shoulder, adding her strength to Viri’s. 

”Valkorion, Vitiate, Emperor, by any name: You have no power over my body or my mind. I rescind any control I might have given you,” Viri says firmly. There is -- _unrest_ \-- in the Force, and Lana and Viri both involuntarily shiver as they feel Valkorion retreating. 

“He seems weak right now,” Viri says, perplexed. 

”Hurting you that much must have taken a lot of his power,” Lana suggests. “Perhaps more than he expected.” 

”Pity we don’t know how to eject him from my mind,” Viri says. “Now would be the time.” 

“True,” Lana muses. “I know we’ve been researching that. We’ll have to look harder.” 

”I wish Nox were here,” Viri mutters, sitting back. 

”So do I,” Lana says. “She’d know. In the meantime, you will just have to ensure you do not accidentally summon him again. Don’t even use his name.”

”Yes,” Viri says. “There might be some protection we can find against ghosts, in general.” 

”We’ll look,” Lana says, brushing Viri’s soggy hair out of her eyes. “In the meantime, love, I think you need some rest. And perhaps a hot shower.” 

Viri nods. “Stay with me? Don’t leave me alone right now. Please.” 

”Of course,” Lana whispers, leading the way to the fresher. “I’ll be right here.” 

* 

_Later that afternoon_

The sun-dappled path behind the Odessen base is well-trodden, even though the base is only a few months old. Many members of the Alliance have found the waterfall to be a calming and inspiring distraction, and during the day, it is not uncommon to find both Jedi and Sith meditating by the water. The Alliance support staff has already erected lanterns on poles along the narrow walkway, illuminating the route back to base for those who stay out too late into the evening. 

For Viri and Lana, their walk is not one of relaxation, nor is it a diversion. They are here because they need to know. Need to see. Need to reassure Viri that it was all real, but not real. 

“So you’re sure you walked this way?” Lana asks. 

Viri squints in the sun. “Yes. I stayed on the path. I was just going to the waterfall.” 

Lana and Viri continue along the path. The roar of the waterfall is already faintly audible through the cover of the trees, and as they round a corner, the stream comes into view. 

”Look here,” Lana says, stooping down to examine some footprints in the mud. “These look like your boot prints. Was this where you fought him?”

Viri nods. “Yes. And he threw me against the rocks…” 

Lana and Viri walk over to the rock wall, where there are still some splashes of blood on the stones. 

”So far, it’s matching up,” Lana murmurs. “What happened next?” 

”I blacked out,” Viri says quietly. “When I woke, I stumbled along…fainted again…woke up in Satele’s ship.” 

Lana scans the ground until she spots more footprints. “There. They’re so erratic…you must have been staggering.” 

”Sounds right,” Viri murmurs, following the trail. The footprints weave from one side of the trail to the other, but eventually lead to a small cave. 

”The ship?” Lana raises her eyebrow and ignites a portable torch as she enters the cave. Immediately, a heady, balmy smell makes her recoil and pull her scarf over her nose and mouth. 

”Careful, there’s something….pungent…in here,” Lana warns, and Viri covers her own mouth and nose. More blood is splashed on the stones, a few long pieces of blonde hair are scattered on the floor, and a bed of luminous flowers runs along the back wall. Most of blossoms have been crushed, as though a large person had been laying on them. 

”Scanning,” Viri says, pulling out her datapad and running her scanner over the flowers. “They are sweetblossom. Highly…hallucinogenic.” 

”Yellow flowers,” Lana muses. “You came back with yellow stains on your clothing and yellow petals in your hair. I’d bet they came from this flower bed.” 

”Let’s get out of this cave,” Viri mutters. “We don’t have real respirators, and we don’t want to be intoxicated.”

Outside, Lana and Viri walk silently back to the waterfall, taking large gulps of fresh air to clear their heads. 

”I collapsed in the cave,” Viri murmurs. “The sweetblossom inebriated me. Valkorion used that impairment to give me another vision.” 

”I’d surmise the same,” Lana says, looking reflectively at the waterfall. “He couldn’t have orchestrated all that if you’d been sober and hadn’t given him control.”

”It was real,” Viri says softly. 

”Yes,” Lana says, sitting down with her. “You know it’s also real that your control is as strong as ever.”

”Thank the Force,” Viri whispers, leaning into Lana’s side. Lana immediately puts an arm around her, hugging her close. 

”Do you feel better now?” Lana murmurs, stroking her cheek. “You’re not going mad. He’s not taking over. It had an explanation.” 

”He’ll never stop torturing me,” Viri whispers. “As long as he’s here, we’re not safe.” 

”I know,” Lana says, kissing her cheek softly. “I also know we’ll do everything we can to keep him from hurting you. You will defeat him. I know it.” 

”I have to,” Viri says, burying her face in Lana’s shoulder. 

”I’ve got you, love,” Lana murmurs, tilting her chin up. “May I?” 

”Please,” Viri smiles. “I want a real kiss.” 

”Just one?” Lana teases. 

”As many as you’d like to give me,” Viri counters, leaning in. 

”I can arrange that,” Lana laughs as her lips meet Viri’s.


End file.
